22 Artists Magazine October 2019
Prime STUDIO STAPLES
YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU
“The most helpful item in my studio is my iPad,” says
Antonio Masi. “It goes wherever I go; it’s like taking my
studio with me.
“My iPad offers tremendous uses. I use it to store my
references and photos of my work. I use it in the different
stages of a painting in progress. When using it to view
a reference, I can enlarge a section to see it better. I also
use it for record-keeping, sales, billing, accounts receivable,
work schedule, workshop schedules, art contest and
exhibition schedules, and deadline reminders.”KEEPING TABS ON TOOLS
“Organizing tools and materials, while still keeping them
accessible, is always a goal, so I organize tubes of paint by
families of color,” says Birgit O’Connor. “You can use small
plastic bags, clear plastic drawers with dividers or, to save
room, even a clear plastic shoe organizer that hangs on
a door.
“Because different painting styles require different
needs, I organize brushes by size and type. To prevent
ruining a tip, I place them tip-up in large stone containers
where they’re easily accessible.“I like to keep brands and weights of paper separate, too,
and try not to mingle them. I don’t want to think I have
one type of paper only to find out later that I grabbed the
wrong one.
“For my reference photos, organizing by subject matter
really helps and makes it easier for me to find what I’m
looking for. So, for example, I sort by flowers first, then
by flower type, and then by color.”ORGANIZING WITH TAPE
“I have a lot of different paintings and pictures in the studio,”
says Z.L. Feng, “along with assorted materials and frames.
What helps me stay organized is to set aside part of the
room and dedicate that space exclusively to a certain item.
“For example, I’ll tape a border on my floor and place
reference photos in baskets or folders in the left corner of
my studio and then the easel somewhere in the center.
This keeps references nearby, so I’m able to find what I’m
looking for quickly and use it. Likewise, I keep my tools
and materials blocked off to my right.”TUBES, TUBES & MORE TUBES
“I was awash in paint,” says John Salminen. “Some of
the tubes I’d purchased; others I’d earned as merchandise
awards; and some were given to me for testing. Tubes
and tubes and more tubes. The bulk of them were heaped
in boxes, Ziploc bags and random piles in corners of my
studio. When I needed to find a specific color, I spent a lot
of time rummaging.
“The solution to the chaos came during a trip to the local
building center where I saw these plastic stackable bins
[left and below]. They’re intended for the storage of nuts
and bolts, but they’re sized just right for multiple tubes
of paint. The system is simple, but it has made my studio
time much more productive, and I’ll never again realize
partway through a painting that I’ve run out of a color.”John Salminen uses plastic bins for paint storage. “An individual bin stores
quite a few tubes of paint,” he says. “And the bins stack, so they require a
minimal amount of counter space. Even when stacked, it’s easy to grab a
tube of paint. I’ve arranged the bins in the same color order as my palette.”PHOTO BY JOHN SALMINEN